Posted on August 21, 2012 by Darren
One of the downsides to running a blog the way that I run a blog is that I don’t always have the opportunity to respond to news as it breaks. As such, in writing about the passing of director Tony Scott, pretty much everything that I would say has been said by the time I can publish this, and far more eloquently than I could ever hope to say it. Obviously, I never knew Tony Scott personally, so I won’t comment on the man himself – although the tributes from those who did know him are deeply moving. I knew Tony Scott as countless film fans knew the director, through his work. And that work meant a lot to me.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Beverly Hills Cop II, brad pitt, Crimson Tide, denzel washington, michael bay, quentin tarantino, ridley scott, San Pedro Los Angeles, Scott, tony scott, top gun, true romance | 6 Comments »
Posted on March 18, 2011 by Darren
True Romance is one of those films I’m surprised never found a stronger audience, even retroactively. It features a screenplay from Quentin Tarantino which really put the future director on the map, but it also features a huge number of pre-stardom appearances from actors as diverse as James Gandolfini, Brad Pitt and Chris Penn. The movie holds together fantastically, but perhaps it works better as a collection of scenes than as a fully-realised movie – but, when the scenes are this good, that’s not necessarily a heavy criticism.

It's Whirley ride...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: brad pitt, Chris Penn, Christian Slater, christopher walken, dennis hopper, elvis, elvis presley, ensemble, films, james gandolfini, Movie, non-review review, Patricia Arquette, quentin tarantino, review, tarantino, tony scott, true romance, true romance (film) | 4 Comments »
Posted on June 3, 2010 by Darren
I’ve been kinda sitting on my hands about this. I mean, far more eloquent and informed writers and sources have draft eulogies to the man. And movie stars pass away all the time, yet I’ve never paused to acknowledge them here. I don’t know, I guess I should probably write something, if only for my own reflection in years to come. This isn’t a well-informed article. These are just my memories and associations of Dennise Hopper.

Dennis Hopper, 1936-2010
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: death, dennis hoper rip, dennis hopper, films, icon, rest in peace, true romance | 6 Comments »
Posted on May 21, 2009 by Darren
So, Cannes is well and truly underway. And without (for the most part) the bitchiness or grumbling that usually accompanies it. What? Journalists might actually enjoy a film festival? Pish-posh. Still, despite the huge backlash against Lars Von Trier, the festival is going down a treat. When a Disney film can open Cannes to universal acclaim (no easy feat), you know something’s off. With the general lack of pithiness that defines Cannes journalism, I don’t know what to make of coverage of Inglourious Basterds. The reviews are mixed at best. I miss the Tarantino who won the Palme d’Or for Pulp Fiction. What happened?

Quentin Tarantino, master of the pop culture cocktail
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: cannes, csi, grindhouse, inglourious basterds, kill bill, pulp fiction, quentin tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, tarantino, true romance | Leave a comment »